


Friends

by NashidaKyouko



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Book 3 concurrent, F/F, Happy Birthday MetalWarrior22!, Korrasami - Freeform, One Shot, POV Third Person, cross-posted on dA and tumblr, kinda angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 14:30:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4628772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NashidaKyouko/pseuds/NashidaKyouko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra and Asami deny their feelings for each other despite being aware that their relationship feels a bit different than their other friendships. Book 3 concurrent. For MetalWarrior22's birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MetalWarrior22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetalWarrior22/gifts).



> One-shot thing that happened as I was trying to write something rather different from this.  
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own LoK or the characters.

 “Korra? You planning on finishing that anytime in the next century? You haven't touched it for a while...” Asami was on her third round. It confused her that Korra had suggested they come here again despite having an obvious distaste for the bitter drink.

While Asami happily sipped her drink, Korra could hardly get this “coffee” stuff down her throat. She'd never had it before coming to Republic City, and had only given the stuff a try on a handful of occasions. And on each of those occasions, it seemed to taste even worse than before. Today was no exception, to her vague disappointment.

“Ah, yeah. Um. I was just, er, enjoying the smell for a bit?” A bald-faced lie. Eyeing the cup in front of her with caution, Korra decided to give the drink another chance. She inadvertently shivered as she reached for her cup, dreading the thought of facing the beverage again. But she wanted to have another thing to share with Asami. At the very least, she had to _pretend_ to like the vile drink. Getting coffee together would provide another excuse for her to spend time with Asami, after all.

And for some reason that she didn't quite understand, spending time with Asami was gaining importance to Korra. She so enjoyed herself every time they were together these days. Korra would do anything to increase that time. Even if just for a minute longer—perhaps even a second. Distracted by thoughts of how to fit more of Asami into her days, Korra held her coffee without really drinking it. Her eyes were trained on Asami, though she didn't realize this until the woman quirked an eyebrow at her, taking the last few swigs of coffee from her cup.

Korra snapped her head away, flushing at being caught staring. The movement was so sudden, so sharp, that a mild pain shot through her neck, eliciting a small yelp. Her companion's eyebrows rose further in response to Korra's display. But Asami opted to say nothing. She was afraid to make any assumptions about Korra's behaviors. Assuming anything about behavior would lead to assumptions about emotions. And assuming _anything_ about Korra's feelings terrified Asami. Because... what if she was wrong? What if all the signals were misread? What if she ruined what the two of them had as a result? They had come so far from where they started. She wouldn't, couldn't take any risks with Korra right now. Asami had come to care so tenderly for her. She'd never had the pleasure of having a close friendship like this before.

Ah, yes. Friendship. That's what this was, of course. That's all this was. That's all this could be. No matter how many times they caught each other staring, neither of them could allow this, uh, _relationship_ to become anything but friendship. And that was fine, too, wasn't it? Friendship was something valuable. Something worth facing death for, if need be. There was nothing lesser about friendship. Both of them believed that. And yet... there was another kind of tug between them. One which grew stronger and stronger every time their eyes met. Every time one of them laughed, or cried, or pouted. Every time the other woman crossed their minds. Somehow, even when they were apart, the tug strengthened.

Korra was only aware of these feelings on a basic level. She knew there was something special about her friendship with Asami, but she tended to attribute this sense to Asami being her first real female friend. She was comfortable with that answer. What else could it be? Yeah, it was a bit weird that her heart sometimes pounded when Asami flipped her hair or gave her a playful wink. But Korra couldn't think of another explanation that seemed reasonable.

Asami, on the other hand, was hyper-aware of these feelings. But only on her own part. However, she refused to acknowledge them. Well... She _tried_ not to acknowledge them. She wouldn't admit them to herself. Not openly. She wasn't ready to have her heart broken again. She'd lost too much in her life already. It seemed like admitting the pull she felt towards Korra would end with her losing Korra, too. And that was unacceptable.

Korra lifted her cup to her lips, only to gag as soon as the now-cold liquid reached her tongue. She spit the coffee back out, then averted her eyes in embarrassment, teeth clenched in an awkward frown. Recovering from the taste, Korra glanced back to Asami, trying to give a smile, but only succeeding in giving that odd expression she always seemed to make when her picture was taken.

Asami laughed. Yes, losing Korra would be unacceptable.

 

 

\--- Fast-forward to Korra deciding to turn herself over to Zaheer

 

 

She watched Korra go, not knowing whether they would ever meet again after today. Not knowing if she would ever see this spectacular, selfless, wonderful woman again. At least, not alive.

Asami finally accepted it within herself. There was no more possibility for denial. She couldn't pretend her flirting was mere teasing anymore. Couldn't pretend she hadn't hoped it would lead to something more. Couldn't pretend she _really_ had never realized it before. Couldn't pretend for even a second longer that she wasn't head over heels in love with Korra.

And now she may never hear her best friend and secret crush laugh again. Never see those blue eyes light up with unadulterated joy again. Never smell the musk of her sweat after a tough workout session again. Never again.

Asami might lose everything dear to her in this world. Again.

Mako and Bolin turned when they heard a hitch in Asami's breathing. Bolin was the first to notice the dark spots on the ground under Asami's face.

When had she fallen forward to the ground?

It didn't matter. She just needed to be sure to collect herself before they went out to find the Airbenders. After all, making sure they were safe was Korra's number one priority. So that made it Asami's top priority, too. The sooner the Airbenders were safe, the better Korra's chances of survival. Bolin knelt beside her and put a steady hand on her shoulder, though his face was sullen, too.

“Asami... I'm sorry. I know you and Korra are close friends. But there aren't any other options,” Su said before going to talk strategy with Tonraq and Lin.

Right. Friends. A much needed reminder. That's what this was, of course. That's all this was. That's all this could be... No matter how many times Asami mourned over how much she wanted it to grow into something else, too.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading~ Please leave kudos if you liked it =3  
> Hey, everybody! I'm alive and trying to write again. It's been hard for the past few months due to the ECT treatments I've been getting this summer. And now school starts in a few days, too. Sorry for having vanished. Writing is still kinda hard right now due to the aftereffects of the ECT, but hopefully this is good enough xD  
> Oh, also, I have no idea if I really think Korra would dislike coffee. That just kind of happened as I was writing and I went with it xD;; And, sorry, I've written something similar to this before. But, again, this just ended up happening so whatever I guess.  
> MORE IMPORTANTLY! This is something I wrote as a birthday gift for one of my closest friends, MetalWarrior22 (AKA Rod). I originally was going to write a different thing, but instead I ended up writing this and another one-shot for him. I knew I was going to write him something for his birthday as soon as I knew when his birthday would be. Back then, we were fledgling friends and he was so cutely excited to talk to me because he was a fan of my other fics, so I wanted to make him happy by bequeathing a fic to him for his birthday (though apparently it is now not A fic, but TWO fics xD;;). Over the span of the following months, the two of us talked more and more, and he is now a treasured friend of mine. Then, he surprised me by writing a wonderful fic for ME on MY birthday back in July. He really is a sweet guy♥  
> Anyway, this is for you, Metal-kun! Happy birthday! I love you so much♥♥♥ Sorry this one is kinda angsty >.>;; It wasn't supposed to be, but it became that way. The other one is much fluffier, though, so hopefully that'll balance this one out a bit xD  
> Thank you for being in my life, Rod. You've been such an incredible friend to me♥


End file.
